An Amber Alert issued in California has been expanded to Oregon and Washington state.

The Washington State Patrol is now actively searching for two California children who've reportedly been kidnapped by a San Diego man. Siblings Hannah Anderson, 16, and Ethan Anderson, 8, were abducted from Boulevard, Calif., on August 3, 2013 around 5 p.m.

The suspect in the abduction is 40-year-old James Lee Dimaggio, who was last seen driving a blue Nissan Versa four-door with the California license plate 6WCU986.

An Amber Alert was issued statewide in California early Tuesday and was activated in Washington and Oregon Wednesday after a "reasonable sighting" was reported in Lakeview, Oregon. The suspect is believed to be traveling to Canada and could drive through Washington and Oregon.

On Wednesday, Amber Alert signs went up on highways all over Washington.

The Amber Alert went into effect in California after the body of the children's mother was found inside a burned rural house near the U.S.-Mexico border, and authorities said the man suspected of killing the woman may have abducted the kids.

Authorities were trying to locate Hannah and Ethan whose mother, Christina Anderson, 44, was one of two people found dead by authorities sent to extinguish the fire Sunday night, a San Diego County sheriff's statement said.

Hannah is approximately 5-feet, 7-inches tall and weighs 115 pounds. She is white with blonde hair and blue. Hannah also has pierced ears and a nose stud.

Ethan is white with sandy blonde hair. He is 4'11" and weighs 65 pounds.

Dimaggio is described as 5 feet, nine inches tall with brown hair and brown eyes. He weighs 150 pounds.

The suspect owned the home in Boulevard, some 60 miles southeast of San Diego, and lived there alone, the sheriff's statement said.

DiMaggio was in a "close platonic relationship" with Anderson, the sheriff's statement said without further explanation.

KING 5 tracked down his ex-wife, who did not want to be identified but offered a unique perspective of the man now at the center of this manhunt.

She said she and Dimaggio were married in 2002, and separated less than a year later. Even back then, though, she says he was very close with the Anderson family.

Anyone with information is asked to call the San Diego Sheriff's Department at (858) 565-5200.

A second body, that of a child, was found dead in the rubble of the house's detached garage, but the identity and manner of death remained undetermined. Authorities who released the news of the deaths Monday night wouldn't say whether the body may have belonged to one of Anderson's children.

Donator

LAKESIDE, Calif. — A man suspected of abducting a 16-year-old girl told her he had a crush on her and would date her if they were the same age, a friend of the girl said Wednesday as police searched for the man who is also wanted in the death of the girl's mother and possibly her 8-year-old brother.

James Lee DiMaggio explained that he didn't want the girls to think he was weird in an effort to defend himself after noticing they exchanged glances, 15-year-old Marissa Chavez said. She said he spoke while driving them home from a high school gymnastics meet a couple months ago.

Hannah Anderson asked Chavez to join her from then on whenever DiMaggio, 40, drove her to meets.

"She was a little creeped out by it. She didn't want to be alone with him," Chavez said.

DiMaggio was like an uncle to Hannah and 8-year-old Ethan. He was very close with their parents for years.

Oregon and Washington issued Amber Alerts for the two children Wednesday as the search expanded for DiMaggio and his blue Nissan Versa. Police say a possible sighting was reported near Lakeview, in south-central Oregon.

Investigators have said DiMaggio may be headed to Texas or Canada with one child or both.

On Sunday night, authorities found the body of 42-year-old Christina Anderson when they extinguished flames at DiMaggio's rural home. A child's body was found as they sifted through rubble in Boulevard, a tiny town 65 miles east of San Diego on the U.S.-Mexico border.

The child's body has not been identified but it may be Ethan, sheriff's Lt. Glenn Giannantonio said late Tuesday.

Christina Anderson's father, Christopher Saincome, said Wednesday that his daughter visited DiMaggio's home last weekend to say goodbye before he moved to Texas. DiMaggio, who works as a telecommunications technician at The Scripps Research Institute in San Diego, was a regular presence at the Anderson family apartment in Lakeside, a suburb of 54,000 people.

"He must have had this planned," Saincome said.

Saincome said nothing seemed amiss when he called his daughter at work Friday to let her know she didn't call on his birthday. Anderson, a medical assistant, said she would call back that night but never did.

Investigators had no evidence that the relationship between DiMaggio and the missing girl was more than friendly.

"We're not looking into that directly at this point," Giannantonio said.

Chavez, who spoke at a candlelight vigil for Hannah on Tuesday night, said DiMaggio argued with her friend when he took her to Hollywood in late June or early July for her birthday. DiMaggio was upset that Hannah was "paying more attention to posting pictures (on her phone) than talking to him."

"He got upset and ended the trip early," Chavez said.

Brett Anderson, who flew from Tennessee to San Diego on Tuesday, pleaded with DiMaggio to release his daughter, saying, "You've taken everything else."

"Jim, I can't fathom what you were thinking. The damage is done," he said outside San Diego County Sheriff's Department headquarters after being interviewed by investigators Tuesday.

DiMaggio is wanted on suspicion of murder and arson in a search that began in Southern California and spread to Mexico and neighboring states.

DiMaggio's sister, Lora Robinson, told U-T San Diego that the allegations against her brother were "completely out of character." She said he spent four years in the Navy, left the service to care for her after their mother died of cancer, and volunteered rescuing animals.

"He is the kindest person in the world," Robinson said.

Brett Anderson joined hundreds of family friends and neighbors at the vigil in the parking lot of El Capitan High School in Lakeside, where Hannah was about to start her junior year. Pink paper cups stuffed between holes in the fence read, "Pray Hannah," and dozens of white, powder blue and pink balloons lifted into the air.

Investigators described Brett Anderson as an ex-husband, but Saincome said the couple decided to live apart about two months ago because Brett found a job in Tennessee. Saincome said the separation was not the result of any marital problems.

Donator

Why do you always have some kind of excuse when its a white guy? Maybe hes just a piece of garbage.

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Since when is a flipped perv switch "an excuse"?

Abducting two kids for whatever reason is pretty much proof positive that he's a piece of garbage. That one of them is hot jailbait is pretty much proof positive that he's a perverted piece of garbage.

Wackbag Staff

Abducting two kids for whatever reason is pretty much proof positive that he's a piece of garbage. That one of them is hot jailbait is pretty much proof positive that he's a perverted piece of garbage.